GOTG 2014 - Round 1 - 25 September 2013

Round 1 Winner - Gretchen Meddaugh

It's been fifteen years since Gretchen Meddaugh fell in love with Budapest and their on-again, off-again relationship is currently on.  Gretchen refuses to commit, though, until she sees the rink (a rollerskating rink being one thing Budapest hasn't got).   A retired schoolmarm, she needs to realize that she's getting on in years and can't really afford to be so picky. You try telling her that, though.

Round 1 Competitors

First of all, to make things clear, Csaba is a man's name. Csaba Kötcsei is a general manager - that is, he generally manages - an online classifieds business in Budapest. He lived in Finland and in Switzerland, and still loves both countries. He is co-founder of Budapest's first and best Speed Dating business, celebrating 10 years this  year. Csaba's mentor at his first work  - a media agency back in 1998 - was a certain Brendan from Ireland, who skyrocketed from bartender of Beckett's to CEO. Csaba is married with two medium-sized kids, and is proud of his newly acquired 19-year-old girlfriend: a purple Saab 900. He featured twice in GOTG last season, once in November as a contender and then as the sacrificial speaker in the final. Just ask him about entrepreneurial spirit in Budapest :-)

Joe Murphy is a Canadian who moved to Budapest to have a more interesting back-story when spinning yarns at the pub. Working as an activation manager for an international tobacco company through a global Advertising Agency, Joe has a couple degrees in PR and Communication, so hopefully it will all come together during Gift of the Gab. Joe’s worked on many unique projects in the past, from launching women’s bras, to 3D image bank development. With a passion for entrepreneurial activity and a high tolerance for pain, Joe is rooted in the advertising world as a can-do. The word can’t isn’t in his vocabulary.  

Balázs Tóth  is a Hungarian who has spent several years in English schools in Kuwait and Oxford. An Economics Bachelor from Oxford (Brookes) University, he is, in American terms, an Economist major, IT minor.  He  tried  several professional areas, such as pharmaceutical market analysis, reseller/partner relationship management, reseller program operations, market research, project management. before taking up the challenge of SAP jobs automation with an American multinational. Balázs is happily married and a proud father of a girl (5 yrs) and a baby boy (1 month). Keeping up the family tradition, he is a sportsman. A keen swimmer, he holds several Kuwaiti High School records and several championship titles. He also plays squash, skateboards, and spins...

Mark Weston has lived in Budapest for 21 years apart from one year in Africa in 2005. Born in Manchester, UK,  Mark spent some 20 years as a Finance Director of many businesses and was able to retire from fulltime work in 2006. Now he owns an estate agency in Budapest employing about 45 people. He only works maybe two hours a day and tries to split his time between what he wants to do compared to what he has to do.
He has given many business public speeches and has worked on many tough Boards of Directors. Recently he was in two musical drama events through Dramaworks here in Budapest. Mark made his GOTG debut last year and is a regular on stage in Budapest.